Mite sightings in corn fields are a sure sign that they’ll be invading tree nut orchards before long. PCAs have already been finding mites in corn fields since spring, something that doesn’t usually happen until later in the season. That suggests this could be a heavy mite pressure year in other crops such as tree nuts in California....More

The 2011 pistachio season wasn’t a good one for Arizona grower Steve Seplak. It was an off-year for his alternate-bearing trees, and he expected yields to decline from the previous year — just not as far as they did. They dropped to a disappointing 1,000 pounds per acre....More

At mid-June, the pistachio crop developing on Huntley-Moore Farms’ orchards in Fresno County was running several days later than usual, but that hadn’t diminished Steve Moore’s anticipation of a respectable nut crop at harvest in September....More

Making the most of dry weather and warm temperatures since early May, Lake County’s 2012 walnut crop has been making nice progress, says Rachel Elkins, Lake County University of California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor....More

Hull split occurs in mid-July, and that’s the time when navel orangeworm starts laying eggs that will hatch within three weeks. The navel orangeworm is a particularly nasty insect that penetrates the shell and eats the meat of the nut, destroying large sections of a crop....More

Mild weather is boding well for pistachio orchards,
says Justin Kilukov, grower relations manager with Primex Farms. He works with pistachio producers from southern Kern County north through Merced County....More

Efforts by almonds growers to keep ahead of insect threats are in a temporary lull. Populations from the spring hatch of navel orangeworm (NOW), for which some growers sprayed in May, are declining....More

May 24, 2012 Issue

Ants are always in the almond orchard — however, they aren’t as visible as they are now, advises Walt Bentley, regional IPM entomologist at the University of California Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Parlier....More

America’s pistachio growers are on track to their biggest crop ever this year. Fortunately, demand continues to grow and the industry should be able to sell most, if not all, of the crop, says Richard Matoian, executive director of American Pistachio Growers....More

May 11, 2012 Issue

Veteran Butte and Glenn Counties almond grower Dan Cummings was expecting Nonpareil production in his Sacramento Valley orchards to be down this year and pollinator production to be up. But, so far he has been surprised....More

When almonds are drying on the ground during harvest, they are susceptible to damage from that perennial pest, the Southern fire ant. Soft-shelled almonds are particularly at risk, with the fire ant entering through a suture in the hull, removing the nutmeat and often leaving only the pellicle....More

Glenn County, Calif., pecan grower Keith Larrabee likes what he’s seeing in his orchards near Butte City, Calif. “The trees look very healthy,” he says. “Because of the rain and cold weather, things have been moving slowly, but flowers on some early trees and catkins on others are starting to push.”...More

The pistachio orchards of S&J Ranch in Madera County started blooming the first week of April, about the normal time, says Kevin Olsen, vice president of S&J Ranch, a farm management company that also produces citrus and other permanent crops in the San Joaquin Valley....More

When Bill Krueger checked Chandler, Hartley and Howard walnut trees in Glenn County in late March, buds on were still tight. But those on other varieties, like Ashley and Vina, were starting to push....More

Pecan growers in New Mexico’s Pecos Valley are starting the 2012 crop year in much the same way they ended last season — short on water. But, with signs that the current La Niña is beginning to fade, the situation could improve within a few months....More

March 13, 2012 Issue

New Mexico pecan growers are glad they’ve harvested the last of their 2011 crop, hampered by snow and rain in December and January — but they are not so happy over the drop in prices that has occurred since late last summer....More

The navel orangeworm caused relatively little damage to the Kern County pistachio crop in 2011, says Brad Higbee, research entomologist with Paramount Farming Company in Bakersfield, Calif. — but low damage levels last year don’t necessarily mean NOW numbers were down....More

San Joaquin County walnut trees received plenty of chilling hours this winter, and as a result this month trees were advancing faster than normal, sayss Joe Grant, University of California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor for the county....More

Almonds in Merced County began blooming mid-February, with Nonpareil and pollinators such as Aldrich, Carmel and Monterey starting things off. By the end of the month Butte and Padre were also flowering....More

February 22, 2012 Issue

Last fall, California’s walnut growers expected to harvest an estimated 485,000 tons of inshell product, which would have been about three percent smaller than the 502,000-ton crop in 2010 — the largest ever and the third straight year of record production....More

Pistachio trees in the southern San Joaquin Valley have had a good rest this winter, and should the recent warm weather continue, growers could begin seeing bud push 7 days to 10 days earlier than usual, says Bob Beede, University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor for Kings County....More

Beekeepers began trucking their hives into Fresno County the latter part of January, placing them in almond orchards or nearby staging areas.
But, the scarcity of rain this winter has limited growth of vegetation and flowers for the bees to feed on until they can begin getting nourishment from the almond blooms....More